Of Purple Crayon and Stick Figures
by SYuuri
Summary: A picture is worth a thousand words. Jammy fluff. xX oneshot Xx


**Of Purple Crayon and Stick Figures**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Flashpoint.**

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"She went down easier tonight?" Sam asked around a mouthful of sandwich when Jules joined him in the kitchen. Sadie had been fussing for the past few days during bedtime, and had tried to 'escape' her parents when they tried to change her for bed. Sam, completely wrapped around his baby girl's little finger, would indulge her for a few minutes and chase her all over the room before grabbing her under the arms and scooping her into his arms, sending her into peals of merry laughter. Jules might have rolled her eyes and chided him not to spoil Sadie so much, but he could see the shadow of smile lurking right around the corner of her lips.

Jules began to wipe the marble countertop. "Yeah, only took one story tonight. She's expecting you to give her her goodnight kiss, though."

"She still checked for the monsters under the bed?" Sam asked again, half amused. Jules hadn't been exactly thrilled at Natalie for watching one of those Disney movies with evil witches with Sadie. The toddler had immediately believed that a monster witch had taken residence under her bed, ready to grab her ankle and drag her away from mommy and daddy. It's not uncommon for Sadie to timidly ask whether she could sleep with her parents, scuffling the toe of her sock-clad foot into the floor, her beloved Sammy bear clutched tight to her chest. One other morning found Sam squeezing himself in Sadie's too small bed with the three and half year old half-sprawled on top of him. Needless to say he woke up with stiff, aching legs, but one grateful happy daughter.

"No, our method seems to have worked." Jules winked, thinking about how she had told Sadie that there's no monsters under her bed, or in any place in the house because Mommy had commanded them to leave and they should never ever come back. The three year old was unconvinced, blue eyes wide open, small feet kicking the hardwood floor insisting that they hadn't. Jules then took her hand in hers and walked around the house with her, patiently giving every corner a thorough search. She dropped down to her knees and swept the flashlight side to side underneath the bed so her daughter could see for herself that it was 'all clear'.

Jules had hoped her plan worked, at the same time trying to cook up another way if it didn't. It's important for Sadie to feel safe and sleep well at night. She was thinking if she should 'write' the witch a letter asking them to leave (and maybe write another letter as a respond from the witch stating that she had left; that she had been lost on their way to Wonderland) when Sadie broke into a wide smile, cheek still pressed against the carpet. She quickly scrambled to her feet, stars in her eyes, and threw her small chubby arms around Jules' neck. _"You're right, Mommy, they're gone!" _Sadie gushed, positively in awe of her mother.

"Julianna Braddock, not only a kick-ass Team One's head negotiator, she's also a certified bad-ass witch slayer." Sam whistled, hand reaching out to take hers.

Jules rolled her eyes but didn't hesitate when he pulled her in closer. Looking into Sam's deep blue eyes, she remembered that the evening was still far from over. She removed a smudge of mustard from his upper lip with her thumb. "She drew you something today. It took three, five drawing papers, or maybe even ten, for her to get the drawing the way she wanted it to look, but at the end she was satisfied enough with it."

Sam grinned, instantly picturing the cute little way Sadie wrinkled up her nose when she wasn't happy with something; it was a carbon copy of his wife's trademark habit. They hated to see their daughter get so frustrated over something that was supposed to be fun, and had appeased her as much as they could. Still, it wasn't difficult to recognize that Sadie's strong determination (Jules never hesitated to swat his arm when he dared to use the word 'stubbornness') had obviously been inherited from her mother.

"Yeah?" Sam was all smiles. Jules still vividly remembered how proud he was when Sadie showed them her first scribble. It was all lines and swirls without discernible shapes, but he had snapped a picture and she knew the guys had ribbed him for showing off Sadie's first art. '_Pollock had nothing on Sadie'_, he had insisted, ever the proud daddy.

Jules disentangled one arm from his neck and took Sadie's drawing from where she had pinned it on the fridge. He must have been so starving that he didn't notice it right away. Sam pushed away his now empty plate to make space for the drawing. "She said it's a family picnic."

"Apparently we're been upgraded from blobs," Sam noted, examining the combination of various size of circles with three pair of dots which he guessed were supposed to be eyes. Sadie used her blue crayon for his eyes and hers, which warmed his heart. _'My eyes are like daddy's eyes! They look like the seas!' _He had flashed Jules who was watching them with amusement a knowing lopsided grin and said, more to Jules than to Sadie, that _'It's not a sea, Baby, it's Santorini Sky.' _Suffice to say when Sadie had gone back to her drawing and not looking, Jules kicked his shin.

"If this one over here is our ladybug, then she's already almost as tall as you are."

"Very funny, Braddock." Jules tweaked his lobe.

"You're welcome, Braddock." Sam jibed, his face aglow. Four years had passed and he still couldn't completely wrap his head around the fact that she was carrying his last name.

Sam studied the picture some more, the smile never leaving his face. Jules had stopped influencing Sadie's direction when the little girl claimed she liked her blobs better than Jules' stick figures. Sadie was a bright child and she didn't see any reason why she should do anything to hinder her developing imagination. She loved to sit in the backyard when the weather was warm, quietly observing the butterflies and the trees, hands tucked beneath her chin and petite lips making a petite 'o' as she took everything in. Sam had almost flipped when a green swirl with thick yellow line showed up in her picture for the first time.

"Okay, and what is this?" Sam pointed at a purple blob overlapping the figure that was supposed to be Jules. He knew because it's the only 'person' with brown dots instead of blue. They always made sure to ask Sadie to tell them about her pictures because the last thing they wanted was to hurt her sweet innocent feelings by mistaking a dog for a boat the way Spike did a few weeks ago. Jules almost kicked him out of the house.

That green swirl though, it _was_ a tree.

Jules gnawed at her lips. She could hardly keep still so she busied herself by playing with the short hair on the nape of his neck. "Well, since it's purple Sadie's probably hoping for a sister. She said the baby's wearing her favorite shirt. The one with white flowers, remember?"

Sam's eyes shot up to lock with hers, his witty comeback dying at the tip of his tongue. He caught a glint of hopeful nervousness in her brown eyes. It took him exactly twenty five seconds for _his_ dots on the paper of his mind to finally connect, and even then he was still unable to string a semi coherent sentence. His mouth opened and closed for a few times but no sounds came out. He gulped. "A sister, a baby? Are you-" His eyes flew down to her tank top covered stomach, flat and toned once again only a mere months after she gave birth to Sadie. The grin on his face was as big as the one he had four years ago at the coffee shop; it was the very definite and accurate description of 'a smile could light up any room'. "_Is_ Sadie getting a baby sister or brother? Jules?"

"I haven't confirmed it with my doctor, but I think it's pretty safe to say that."

"Oh my God, Jules," Sam breathed out, arms reaching out to pull her tightly to him until she sat sideways in his lap. He buried his nose in her neck, breathing in her scent. Her skin was cool and soft, smelling faintly of strawberry. They had talked about the possibility of conceiving another child, but talking about it and having it to actually happen were two completely different things. A baby. Another baby Braddock. He whispered two more 'Oh my God's before pulling back to give her a lingering kiss. He trailed his kiss down her jaw to her neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." Jules nuzzled the side of his face and rested her head there, watching giddily as his hand wandered underneath her top. History repeated itself, and she had no complaint. His palm felt warm and calloused against her skin, and the gesture sent a tingle down her spine.

"Any nausea? Headache? Fatigue? Should we go to the hospital? I saw Ed when I checked in this morning, he gave you guys his do-it-or-die drill yesterday, didn't he?" Jules tried not to roll her eyes. Okay, so _maybe_ she didn't really miss the overprotective daddy Sam so much.

"I'm fine, Sam. I've booked an appointment for Wednesday because I know it's your day off. I figured you probably wouldn't want to miss the first doctor's appointment."

Sam frowned. "But that's in two days."

Jules cupped his face in one hand, the other resting on top of his over her stomach. She waited until he looked at her in the eyes. "Sam. Sam, we're good."

He exhaled, shuddered, and leaned his forehead on hers, deciding to trust her words. "How did Sadie take it?"

Jules sighed, fingers absently combing through his short blond strands. "I'm sorry, I know you probably would have wanted to tell her together but I took the test this morning after you left and they're all positive and I just had these feelings building inside me," she stopped and covered her mouth with her hand, taking some time to compose herself. He kissed her cheek, flushed crimson with glee. "When I saw her it just came out." She'd swept the toddler into her arms and hugged her for a long minute, overwhelmed with joy. Sadie was content to stay in her mother's arms, and at one point patted her back while cooing 'there, there'.

"She asked how the baby got in there?" Sam chuckled, stroking his hand over her belly.

"Not yet, but she actually asked me to open my mouth 'cos she wanted to see the baby," Jules shook her head at her daughter's antics. "I told her that she's going to have a baby sister or brother and that she or he was growing inside my tummy. She probably wouldn't really understand until I'm showing more, but she seemed to accept it just fine."

Her eyes misted up slightly as she recalled Sadie rubbing her stomach this afternoon, not quite with the same tenderness Sam was displaying right now, but lovingly all the same. Jules was preparing lunch when the the little girl trotted to the kitchen, a crayon fisted in one hand, and asked how the baby looked like. Whether the baby had brown eyes or blue. Or if the baby had gold hair like daddy.

Sam brushed his lips over her neck and looked back at Sadie's drawing. Jules had a feeling it wouldn't be impossible for Sam to frame it. "So this is our baby's first sonogram, then."

Jules snorted. "You can say that."

He kissed her, holding her more snuggly in his embrace. They still had lots to figure out, but for now they just wanted to bask in each other's presence and the fact that they were going to have another child.

"Sadie has asked me twice when the baby would come, if he or she was coming tomorrow or the day after, so I guess we should prepare ourselves for that question for at least eight or seven months ahead," Jules paused, considering the situation. "Or at least until she's bored. Are you ready?"

"Looking forward to it."


End file.
